It is said, “the best defense is a good offense”. In that light NYC DOT proposed rule changes that pull back the curtains on a long list of violations and their scheduled penalties. In what the DOT views as “housekeeping”, the agency seeks to move the penalty list from one section of the City Rules to another. We didn’t see changes in the already excessive penalties, as they were jacked up some time ago, but it’s a good time to review the list, see what violations are on the agency’s radar and what the fines are. The complete schedule can be read here.
Most are construction and street opening related violations, like failure to use skid resistant plating on a roadway ($1,200 for a first offense), working without a valid emergency number ($1,000), or failure to place proper street protection under a commercial refuse container ($250). But there are plenty of other violations of interest from inter-city bus permits to delivery bicycles to leaving the scene of an accident. We suggest you look over the list. You may find something relevant to your operations.
In many instances, the fines for repeat offenses are more than doubled. With buses, for example, “unauthorized passenger pickup or discharge” is $500 for the first offense and $2,500 for all subsequent offenses. “Failure of an intercity bus permit holder to prominently display a copy of an intercity bus permit”, “failure of an intercity permit holder to properly display the operator’s name, address and telephone number”, and “unlawful stopping or standing in an assigned on-street bus stop location except when actively engaged in the pick-up or discharge of passengers by an intercity bus permit holder” follow the $500/$2,500 schedule.
The public comment period ends on Monday, July 31, and a hearing will be held on that date at 55 Water Street, New York, NY 10041 at 2PM.
Unfortunately, at these hearings, there’s no opportunity to challenge the substance of the rules or the penalty schedules, as the proposed rules only seek to change where in the code these penalties appear but, it’s a good time to learn what’s out there and put these violations on YOUR radar.
Comments can be emailed to DOT at: rules@dot.nyc.gov, Faxed at 212-839-8867 or mailed to:
Vincent Maniscalo, Assistant Commissioner
New York City Department of Transportation
55 Water Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10041
Leave a Reply